For me there is nothing as exciting as drawing from life. A courtroom where a notorious trial is happening is great theatre. People’s lives are on the line. Lawyers with the very best legal minds make passionate, opposing arguments. Judges make life-changing rulings and juries pronounce verdicts. Drawing at these trials is a mind bending challenge. Deadlines are tight. No one stands still. The likenesses of OJ Simpson, Woody Allen or Tupac Shakur have to be exact. The Library of Congress has collected more than 4,500 of her sketches in their archives and the Smithsonian has a large number as well.

The John Gotti Trial

Tupac Shakur

Son of Sam David Berkowitz 1978

Benie Madoff

Brink's Robbery 1983

Buddy Jacobson

Mob Trial with Castellano

Central Park Jogger Trial 1990

Puff Daddy 2001

Jack henry Abbott with Normon Mailer 1982

DA. Gold pointing to Son of Sam, David Berkowitz 1078

Son of Sam, David Berkowitz 1978

A Defendant who did not like the way his attorney was handling his case, punching him. State Supreme Court 1990

Donald Trump at NFL Trial 1980's

Gen. Westmoreland V. CBS 1985

John Gotti 1992

John Gotti 1992

David Hinkley 1982

Marybeth Whitehead, surrogate mother 1987

Marybeth Whitehead, Baby "M" Trial 1987

Jack Henry Abbott (Norman Mailer,foreground) 1982

Mark David Chapman (killed John Lennon) 1981

Mark David Chapman (killed John Lennon) 1981

Martha Stewart 2004

Martha Stewart 2004

Central Park Jogger Trial, mother's reaction, 1990

Nossaira ,Killed Rabbi Kahane 1991

Robert Chambers 1988

Robert Chambers Trial parent's reaction

Robert Chambers ( parents listening)

Robert Chambers 1988

Robert Chambers 1988

Robert Chambers 1988

Woody Allen and Mia Farrow with Alan Dershowitz 1993

Woody Allen and Mia Farrow 1993

World Trade Center Trial 1995

World Trade Center Trial 1995

David Berkowitz "Son of Sam" 20x24 Acrylic

OJ "If The Glove Doesn't Fit" 24x30 Acrylic

To some the courtroom might look like a staid scene that repeats itself day after day: a defendant, a judge, a witness, a jury. An outburst can happen at any moment and I must be prepared to draw it. The adrenaline is always pumping. To me a drama is unfolding. It’s both inspirational and challenging to find ways to capture that scene and make it look different every time.

The circumstances under which courtroom art is done force a necessary economy of means, speed, energy and explicit emotion into the work. All of this spills over and informs my painting. The very real narratives of the defendants and their families lead me to examine my own more private ones and how to portray them in my painting. Sketching in court is where it begins but I feel equally passionate about my painting and grateful to be able to do two such fascinating kinds of art.